3 Apps to Make Dinner Safer

Liz KennedyMar 02

Whatever the reason for the queasy feeling in the pit of your stomach, there’s an app to soothe it. All are for iPhones:

HarvestMark Food Traceability
“LoJack for your veggies,” Sunset magazine called the HarvestMark icon, which lets you trace an apple or asparagus stalk back to the farm (assuming a farmer has signed up). With this free app, you can do the detective work while standing in the supermarket aisle. It’s what you need if you’re looking for locally grown food — and it’ll tell you if your arugula has been recalled.

Still Tasty
For all those times you thaw meat for dinner and then develop a yen for Chinese takeout, this $1.99 app pulls together info from the FDA, USDA, and CDC to tell you whether you can refreeze the beef or if that would be asking for trouble. (It also helps you store food for maximum flavor — tomatoes on the counter until they’re cut, strawberries in the fridge — and more.)

Om Nom?
Sure, it’s fun to feed your dog peanut butter just to see how long it takes him to get it off his teeth. But giving him chocolate is dangerous. With this 99-cent app, you can check dozens of foods to find out what (and how much) is safe for your pooch.